Kale Salad with Tahini-Lemon Dressing

Hi friends, I'm back!  The last 3 years I've ended up gaining back some of the weight I lost. Luckily not all of, actually not quite half of it.  Now I'm ready to get back to where I was with healthy eating and working out! 

I've been back on plan for about 2 1/2 weeks now and I'm down 6 lbs.  I joined Dietbet.com and it's really kept me motivated. If you aren't familiar with Dietbet it's a website where you put money up (mine was $20 a month for 6 months) and bet that you will lose the weight they set in the challenge you joined.  If you make it until the end you can collect all the money in the pot from those that either dropped out or didn't reach their goal!  It seems to be really be keeping me on track! 

On to the salad...I love kale. Kale is so much heartier than lettuce and much more chewing is required so it's more satisfying to me.  For this salad I grilled some chicken thighs and added tomatoes, a little low-fat feta cheese, toasted walnuts and yummy homemade Tahini-Lemon Dressing.  Here is the recipe I used for the dressing

Tahini-Lemon Dressing

1/2 cup Tahini

3/4 cup of water (more or less depending on the consistency you like)

Juice from 1-2 lemons (I like mine lemony)

1 garlic clove finely minced

salt and pepper

Whisk all ingredients together. 

That's it for today but I hope to be posting here more often and I even started a Fit and Fabulous Over 50 Instagram page so follow me there! 

A Delicious Breakfast Idea

We're in Hawaii right now and this is our usual breakfast here.  It's half a papaya filled with low-fat cottage cheese!  It is so good and so healthy! 

I've never been a big fan of cottage cheese and I hadn't eaten it in many years until I met Allen.  Now after giving it a second chance I love it and I've been eating it every day for months! Some times I'll have it with my scrambled eggs in the morning and other times I will have 1/4 - 1/2 cup with some fruit. I even like it with salsa on top but I think in the papaya boat is my favorite!

Best Superfoods for Weight Loss

I found this article and wanted to share! Click here:  Best Superfoods for Weight Loss.  I've started eating more grapefruit and after reading this I may try to have a half of one before every meal!

What I've eaten so far today

Breakfast - scrambled eggs, 2% cottage cheese and salsa

I walk 1 mile every day on my lunch break. This is part of my walk

A lot of people have asked what I eat each day so here is what I've eaten so far today. I took this right off my Lose.it.com summary. I'm still under 1200 calories (only at 1031 calories so far) and I plan on going to the gym so I'll have room for a good snack tonight. The numbers next to the food are the calories. The numbers next to exercise (walking) are the extra calories I've burned so far today. I also drink about 4 16oz bottles of water a day and I have coffee in the morning and the afternoon.


Daily Report for May 8, 2013

Breakfast  Total calories: 231
Salsa ⅓ Cup 27
Egg (Large) 2 Servings 140
Cottage Cheese, 2% Fat ⅓ Cup 65

Lunch Total calories 380
Pop Chips 1 Serving 100
Pasta, Classic Favorites, Ricotta & Spinach, Weight Watchers Smart Ones 1 Box 280

Dinner Total calories 198
Chicken Breast 5 Ounces 150
Spinach, Stmd ¾ Cup 48

Snacks Total calories 222
Yogurt, Greek, Mango, 2%, Chobani 6 Ounces 160
Grapes, Fresh 1 Cup 62

Exercise Total calories burned 102
Walking 35 min 102

Summary
Food Calories 1,031
Exercise Calories 102

This report was generated with Lose It!

Dinner tonight - chicken breast and steamed spinach with garlic and red pepper flakes

I'm still hungry after eating this dinner so I will probably have a snack before I go to the gym and since I'll have calories left I'll have another snack later tonight.

I usually cook a more interesting dinner than this but my daughter had cooked the chicken tonight for salads but I wasn't in a salad mood so I made mine with the steamed spinach.

I'll try to do more of these posts so you can see how I eat and how I've lost 75 lbs.  

Squats - A great exercise

I found this chart on Facebook and started it about 5 days ago. At this point I can't imagine doing 250 squats but I'm going to work my way through this!  Yesterday was on Day 5 and after work I met a friend for dinner and then ran errands and I was just too tired to do 70 squats but I plan on doing them today!  Even if it's impossible to do 250 squats I'm still going to incorporate these into my exercise routine because just after a few days I could feel my behind and the back of my upper legs getting firmer!  Those are my problem areas!

When you do them just be sure to not let your knees extend beyond your toes...that is bad for you knees! 

Before and After - 75 lbs weight loss

I've been planning on doing a "Before and After" post for a long time but I wanted to wait until I reached my goal but I've decided to just do it now. I still have 10 more pounds to lose but I've been at this weight for at least 6 months now so I might not reach that goal.   This before photo above was taken in 2009 and I think I had just started losing weight.  

The before photo above I took when I started dieting because I wanted a really bad before picture. I put those jeans and top on just for the photo. I wouldn't have been caught dead going out wearing that. Those pants were a size 16 and I could barely squeeze into them they were so tight. The skinny jeans in the photo above are a size 4 from Old Navy! I still remember trying those on. I was in the dressing room with a size 8 and they were too big so I changed back into my clothes and went out and got a size 6 and those were a little big. I went out again and got a size 4 and I couldn't believe I was able to get them on!  I was standing in line to buy them and I was texting my daughter that I fit into a size 4! I was giddy with excitement!  Those are the only size 4s I have though, all my other pants are size 6 but I'm fine with that...I was a size 18 and squeezing into a 16...size 6 feels great! 

I'm 5'7" and I weighed 220 lbs at my highest and now I'm about 145...I seem to go up and down a few pounds regularly!  My goal is 135.

I'll share more soon on how I did it but most of it was lost through Weight Watchers and LoseIt.com.  I also started working out.  

March 2013

I think it's obvious that I'm a lot happier now!

I know I love to see before and after photos of people and I found looking at them very inspiring when I had all that weight to lose! I'm sharing these photos in hopes of inspiring at least one person! If I can do it so can you!

April 2013

Classic Inspiration!

I found this outfit above on Pinterest awhile back and fell in love with it!  I even posted it to Facebook and proclaimed my love for it!  

It wasn't until weeks later that I realized I had some items in my closet to recreate a very similar look!

Please excuse the unmade bed and the big black hot-flash fan!

I actually have two of these white cotton shirts. They are from Victoria Secrets online store.  I bought the one above in a size Medium and it's a little too tight in the bust area but I decided to keep it for when I lost weight and I bought another one in size Large.  I had the large one on earlier in the day but spilled salad dressing on it so I had to put the medium one on, which is still to tight in the bust even though I've lost weight.  It was just a tad too snug so I decided to put a lace camisole on under it.  

The skirt I bought awhile back at Express.  The skirt in the inspiration photo is higher waisted which would be better with the belt but since I already had this I decided to make it work!  

I also had the brown belt, shoes, and handbag! Forgot to put the handbag in the photo though!

When I had the larger shirt on without the camisole I wore a very similar necklace as you see in the inspiration photo!  It looked a little too busy with the lacy camisole though.

I can't believe it took me weeks to realize I already had everything I needed in my closet to recreate this look I loved!  

I love finding ways to mix and match my clothes! Sometimes it just takes a little creativity and sometime it just takes some outside inspiration!

Style over 50

I find fashion over 50 so confusing!  I don't feel like I'm over 50 so I certainly don't feel like dressing like I'm over 50. I'm not even sure how I'm supposed to dress now.  It's not like it was when our moms were are age! I'm not wearing black pants with an elastic waist band every day!  Actually I wouldn't be caught dead in them!!!

I know for sure I don't want to dress like a 20 year old and I don't want to dress like an old women!  In a sense, I'm still trying to find my style at this age! This style above that I put together on Polyvore is totally my style at the moment. I love coral and I love gold!  

I even splurged on this gold Michael Kors handbag below a couple months!  I must have went into the Michael Kors shop 3 times to look at it before I bought it.  I haven't regretted it yet! It's the perfect summer bag in my opinion! 

In a way, I'm much more brave with my style now than I was when I was younger and it feels liberating! 

My new workout

Well, I did it! I've been wanting a Malibu Pilates chair for awhile and I finally bought one!  I've only had it a few days but so far I love it...and so does my daughter!  It's a great workout, I can really feel it in my legs, abs and arms!  In addition to doing the 20 minute workout I find I can sneak in some additional time while I'm watching TV.  I'll keep you updated on my results!

Also, an update on my weight loss...I'm now down over 60 lbs!  It's taken me a couple years but I'm fine with that! I could have easily put on more weight in those two years so I'm happy to see the scale going in the right direction!  I lost 50 lbs and kept that off for over a year and then I was ready to get serious and lose the rest of it!  I have 16 more pounds to go to reach my goal! I'm hoping to be there by my 52 birthday on September 24, 2012! 

Two products I LOVE!

A few months ago I finally bought a Clarisonic Plus Skin Care Cleansing system. I've wanted one for so long!  At first, I didn't want to spend that much money so I bought the cheaper copy by Olay. I was happy with that but I knew that the Clarisonic was probably better and I have to say it is!  My skin is smoother than it's ever been my whole adult life, which says a lot since I'm 51 years old!  I decided to buy the most expensive model with the body brush because my neck and chest was showing my age more than my face!  I bought mine through QVC and it came with a lot of different cleansers. I really love the refining skin polish! It exfoliates your skin and it really does make your skin look polished. 

About the same time I bought the Clarisonic I also bought this...

Lancome Visionnaire! It is expensive but you don't use very much and it's lasted months.  I just wish I could see how much I have left but you can't see through the bottle. Honestly that's the only complaint I have about it!  They are both really great products (and no, they aren't paying me to say this) and I just wanted to share some great products with you!

Really great products! My skin actually looks firmer now!  

Greek Yogurt Breakfast

This is my favorite quick breakfast!  

Greek yogurt and berries!  I love the FAGE Greek yogurt. I've tried other brands but this is the best in my opinion.  I use the fat free variety, it's only 100 calories and NO FAT!! 

I just layer the Greek yogurt with berries and drizzle a little honey over it.  When I first started eating this I was so used to eating yogurt that was full of sugar that it took me awhile to get used to it.  I would mix in Splenda with the yogurt but now I eat it without sweetening it or I just drizzle a little honey over the fruit if the fruit isn't sweet enough.

As I eat it I like to smash up the berries and it turns the white yogurt this pretty purple color.

Before I was unemployed I used to just take a carton of the yogurt to work and a bag of berries and I didn't even have to put it in another bowl! When I would eat this at my desk, people would always comment on how good it looked! It really is yummy and so much healthier than that sugary yogurt.

Skin Care

Any one else tried one of these wonderful little Olay Pro X Cleansing Systems?  I bought mine about 6 or 7 months ago and I LOVE it! I really wanted a Clarisonic system but they are so expensive. This seems to do about the same thing for a whole lot less money! I haven't owned a Clarisonic so in all fairness, I can't really make a comparison. I do love what this has done to my skin! It's really made a difference. My skin feels brighter and firmer and the pores on my nose look smaller!  I've noticed that at this time in my life that it is really important to exfoliate my skin!  If I don't, my skin becomes very dull looking (and old).  I've been really happy with the difference this has made!  (this is not a paid advertisement, I just wanted to share another great product that I use regularly with you).

Find Your Thing!

I LOVE this TV commercial! I think we can all see our self in her!  I think it's a good reminder that we may not love everything we try but if we continue to try new things then we have a good chance of finding something we love!  I'm always trying new forms of exercise in hope of finding something I'm passionate about! If you are passionate about something, you want to do it!

I did the gym thing for awhile and had to force myself to go, it's just not "my thing".  I tried hiking and loved it and I've been hiking 10 miles every Saturday morning since January 2011. 

I started walking a mile on my lunch hour and find that it really does break up my day and makes my afternoon more pleasant. When it's too hot or too cold or raining, I go to the mall that is close by and walk around there.

I tried mountain biking when I met my boyfriend and now I love that too! 

This week I joined a spin class that is held at my gym at work! I tried spinning years ago when I was totally out of shape and it was just too hard. I'm glad I gave it another chance because I loved it. Not only could I feel it in my legs but the next day my arms and abs were a little sore too! 

So, now my workouts will include Spinning on Monday and Wednesdays (45 minutes each day), Hiking 10 miles on Saturdays (about 4 hours),  walking 1 mile on my lunch hour 3 days a week (about 20 minutes) and an occasional bike ride. I also do arm exercises with resistance bands a few minutes each day while sitting at my desk at work. This is a great exercise if you sit in front of a computer all day!

Just how many calories am I burning?

I'm always wondering how many calories I'm burning!  While I'm working out my thoughts are getting a workout of their own....Did I burn off that bagel that I shouldn't have eaten for breakfast? What about that candy bar that I ate yesterday and regret today?  I also wonder what is better: running, biking or hiking?  Luckily, there are lots of calories-burned calculators on the internet! I get inspired just plugging in different activities and seeing just how many calories I can burn doing different activities!  Here is a link to one on the Glamour website.

That's me hiking with my hike leaders last Spring.  That was a tough hike! We burn over 1,000 calories in a 4 hour hike! You have to burn 3,500 calories to lose 1 pound!  Makes sense to me...eat less, exercise more!

Pore Elimination

I haven't tried this yet but it looks easy!  This guy has some really good make-up videos on YouTube!

Baby Oil

 

Back in the day when I was a teenager, Johnson's Baby Oil was the stuff we slathered on our skin before we went to the beach to tan.  Tan? Me? Well that was more like wishful thinking...I would always burn!  Now I can't even imagine putting this on for that purpose but I still use it almost every day! 

I use it to moisturize my skin now.  Every morning after my shower, while I'm still in the shower, before I dry my wet skin, I slather on Johnson's Baby Oil.  Then I just lightly pat dry my skin. It works great on the days I wear skirts because my legs look smooth and silky, with a little bit of shine! (warning though...be careful, the oil can make your shower floor slippery)

Love this stuff... and it's a good deal too!

25 Ways to Cut 500 Calories a Day - Health.com

Did you know that you can drop a pound a week just by cutting out 500 calories per day (based on a 150 lb woman).  That doesn't sound too hard...does it?   Here is a slide show I found with some great ways to cut 500 calories...  25 Ways to Cut 500 Calories a Day - Health.com

Another great way to cut calories is to add a can of pumpkin to a box of cake mix instead of the oil, eggs and water.  I've made them with both spice cake mix and chocolate.  You can't really taste the pumpkin in the chocolate muffins!

You can read about these muffins on my other blog (My Romantic Home). Just click on these links: Diet friendly Pumpkin Spice Muffins or Diet Friendly Chocolate Muffins.

I think I may make some of these this weekend and freeze them! Some mornings it's nice to treat yourself with a muffin with your coffee!

Track your food and excercise for best results!

 

I found I have the best results losing weight when I track my food and exercise!

  When I'm Weight Watchers I use the tracker they give you at the meetings.  When I'm not doing Weight Watcher, like right now,  I use LoseIt.com .  It allows you to either enter info online or use the app on your mobile phone!   

It's simple to use. You just set up your goals by entering your current weight and input how many pounds per week you want to lose (1/2 - 2 lbs), then it tells  you how many calories per day you can eat. You enter the food you eat throughout the day (There is a whole database full of food or if it's not there you can upload the info yourself.)  Another thing I love about this app is that it allows you to enter the exercise you've done that day and you can earn back some extra calories!

Another great feature is that when you set up your goals (I did this online, not on my cellphone), it tells you the date you will reach your goal!  

Oh, I almost forgot to mention the most amazing thing...It's FREE!

This is not a paid review of Lose it..just wanted to let you know about a great free resource for losing weight!

Fall Fashion I'm loving!

 

This year I really want to get a fur vest!  I love the look of jeans and simple pullover sweater, boots and a fur vest!  This one is a faux fur from Topshop.

Love this ruched and shirred shirt! The modern edge...it has a metal zipper up the back. From Ann Taylor.

This Fall I will be buying at least one pair of new boots!  I'm loving these and they come in black too! They are from DSW my favorite place to shop for shoes!  When I go in DSW, I head straight to the back of the store where the sale racks are...there are some fabulous deals there and it's so much fun to find the color coded dots that tell you what percentage the markdown is!

 

I love the elegance of this metallic leather trench coat!  Wow!  It's from Spiegel of places! 

Now, if I only had enough money to buy all these things! Oh well, it's fun to go window shopping!  A girl can dream...

Get out and have fun!!

I think one of the best things I've done for myself in the last year or so it so get out of the house more and do fun things with my friends!  Sometimes we have so much to do in our lives that the one thing that gets pushed to the back burner is fun, but fun is just as important to our health as eating well and exercising! It's good for the soul!

Last Friday a bunch of friends got together (my guy couldn't make it) and met at a local winery on a Friday night.  There is a live band with dancing (great exercise) and we each bring a favorite food to share with the group! It's really a fun and very inexpensive way to have fun on a Friday night! 

Life is what you make it....so make it fun!